STILLWATER

is only a 30-minute-drive away from the Twin Cities and thus perfect for a fall outing. We spent a summerly Sunday enjoying the views and especially the Teddy Bear Park. Samu completely exhausted himself there. 

This is what Samu's heaven must be like: Trains, ships and trees to climb on, slides, rocks, sand and giant teddy bears. 

Time for a snack.

 Picture time.

 Downtown Stillwater

DOGS

are Samu's obsession. He runs after them in the street, points and shrieks at them, and won't stop until they are out of sight. Imagine his excitement when we got him these pajamas. He spent a long time pointing at his shirt and shrieking in excitement. Weeks later, he still knows where the dog is, even though the camera remains his favorite toy.  :)

THANK YOU

for skyping with us, Esther, Elias & parents! What a lovely, beautiful, happy family! 

WELCOME, ESTHER!

We are so excited about the birth of our niece and cousin Esther Valentina. 

Congratulations to the happy family!

SCHOOL

... is hard to escape when your parents are so involved in various aspects of it. This weekend, school started also for Samu. It was a very easy and smooth start of what we hope will support Samu's Finnish language skills and identity. Thank you Suomikoulu/FinnSchool!

Learning about leaves

Parents, teachers, kids

 Reading

 Doing an arts project

 Eating crayons

 Samu was totally wiped out after his first school day. :)

 Kiitos Suomikoulu!

SITTING SAMU

... must be a real pleasure, at least according to what our three wonderful babysitters say. We are SO happy to have found two German and one Finnish speakers who take care of our little man when we are at work. Most importantly, Samu really likes them.

Katarina

Brad

Zach

BON APPETIT!

We've done it. We have transitioned from finding things like these disgusting to finding them cute, from sniffing at them to blogging them. Well, for the most part at least ... we think ... maybe ... ?

HELLO!

So, while I'm waiting for my lunch, I will tell you what happened this week.

Daddy got a new office to go along with his new research job. He was quite excited, even though it could really use some happy wall decorations. 

 I've spent a lot of time outside, ...

 especially at the baby playground.

 Best of all, I am eating myself now. So much better!

Next time, I'll tell you about my new, wonderful babysitters. Stay tuned. Cheers, Samuel

LIVING ON THE EDGE

We thought we did a pretty good job baby-proofing our apartment. We didn't think that the climbing would start quite yet. But it has. Samu climbs everything. Everything. And all the time. Despite the fact that we are a bit more worried now, we are actually really proud and quite amused. :)

His passion for everything that has wheels continues.

 On the playground, you find everything you need:

Things with wheels ...

... and things to climb on.

Now put those two together and you get Samu's favorite thing: A wheel to climb on.